The state of Arkansas has moved forward with its attempt to begin a series of double executions despite rulings in state and federal courts that the inmates are entitled to additional appeals.
In 2014, Oklahoma was the last state to try carrying out two executions on the same night, an effort that went awry.
As he awaited the court to decide his fate Davis ate fried chicken, mashed potatoes and strawberry cake - what could have been his last meal.
Arkansas' plan to resume capital punishment after almost 12 years seemed on its way to being blocked by rulings related to the lethal drugs it wants to use, but in the end arguments over the inmates' mental health led to them being spared.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson expressed disappointment in the Supreme Court ruling in a statement Monday, but promised to continue to seek justice for the victims' families.
The scheduled executions of two Arkansas death row inmates were halted after that state's Supreme Court granted stays Monday afternoon, effectively delaying the state's plan to execute the men by lethal injection before supplies of a key drug expire.
The Arkansas Supreme Court on Monday stayed two executions slated for that evening, but the state's Attorney General Leslie Rutledge filed an application with the US Supreme Court to obtain permission to proceed with the execution of one of them.
Capital punishment in several states has been stymied by opposition of some global drug companies to the use of their products for executions and difficulties in finding effective replacements.
The U.S. Supreme has denied a challenge to carry out the first execution in Arkansas in 12 years according to a report from The Washington Post.
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The execution would have been the first in Arkansas since 2005. Lawyers for the state responded that there is no right to a "partisan psychiatrist" and that "a neutral court-appointed psychiatrist who is equally available to both parties" is sufficient.
Arkansas contends it must act quickly because one of the drugs in its lethal injection mix, the valium-like sedative midazolam, expires at the end of April. Theyhad requested a delay Wednesday, citing the need to wait for the conclusion of a U.S. Supreme Court case, McWilliams v. Dunn.
"While this has been an exhausting day for all involved, tomorrow we will continue to fight back on last-minute appeals and efforts to block justice for the victims' families", he said. The executions of Stacey Johnson and Ledell Lee are scheduled for April 20, but their attorneys are working to halt those as well.
Both inmates' lawyers claim their clients are too mentally impaired to face capital punishment and were not offered a proper mental health screening. The State Supreme Court also referred Griffen to the Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission. The state's Supreme Court also vacated an order blocking the use of the drug vecuronium bromide as part of a lethal-injection protocol.
In her order, U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker flagged two issues: the use of the midazolam and inmates' access to their attorneys on the days of their executions.
The European Union on Wednesday urged Hutchinson to commute the death-row inmates' sentences.
The Supreme Court refused to hear the prisoners' appeal in February, along with another case from Alabama.
The state attorney general's office says there are no current legal obstacles to executing Lee as scheduled.
Arkansas and other states with the death penalty are being hit by the declining availability of lethal drugs in recent years.
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